Privilege and power

A letter published in Thursday’s C-J really got me to thinking. The writer’s insight into the surveillance state was spot on and he summed it up in his final sentence: “This is so because the majority of congressional members have an important function: to serve privilege and power.”

Why stop at spying and the NSA? This particular sentence fits just about any situation. Any question will do. For instance, why does the United States spend more on “defense” than the rest of the world combined? Answer: See above.

Why does health care in the U.S. cost more (with poorer results) than the rest of the industrialized countries? Same answer. Why are there thousands of marijuana users in prison while investment bankers who virtually destroyed the United States economy are walking free and living large off the bonuses for doing so?